Laundry drier



C. S. O'NEIL LAUNDRY DRIER April 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5,1951 m QQN 8 HQ IN VEN TOR.

(IIIIJINIII Charles 5 Patented Apr. 20, 1954 LAUNDRY DRIER Charles S.ONeil, Two Rivers, Wis., assignor to Hamilton Manufacturing Company, TwoRivers, Wis-., a corporation of Wisconsin Application October 3, 1951,Serial No. 249,563

24 Claims.

The invention relates generally to drying apparatus and moreparticularly'to a dryer for drying laundry.

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending applicationSerial No. 684,939, filed July 19, 194.6, now Patent No. 2,608,769.

The general object of the invention is to provide a dryer adapted fordomestic use, which is provided with novel duct means for conductingmoist air from the drying chamber, so arranged that lint may be easilyremoved therefrom.

Another object is to provide a dryer comprising a cabinet having anopening in one wall thereof through which laundry is inserted into andwithdrawn from the drying chamber, such opening also being utilized forthe discharge of moist air, the cabinet having a door for closing saidopening and provided with a duct for transferring the moist air to theinterior of the cabinet or to a flue-connecting means therein.

A further important object is to provide a dryer provided with novelduct means for discharging moist air from the drying chamber, the ductmeans being arranged so that it may be connected to a fine located inany one of several different positions relative to the dryer.

Still another object is to provide a dryer of the foregoing character,provided with condensing means mounted in the door for condensingmoisture from the air as it passes through the duct in the door.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent through the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partially broken away, showing oneembodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2'of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of another embodiment ofthe invention.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

A dryer of the type herein disclosed comprises generally a cabinetwithin which a drum is rotatably mounted. The cabinet is usually ofgenerally rectangular form, while the drum is substantially cylindrical.The front wall of the cabinet is provided with an opening which isaligned with a central opening in the drum, through which the laundry isinserted into and withdrawn from the drum. Within the cabinet is adriving means for rotating the drum and for drawing air into the drumand effecting discharge thereof after such air has absorbed moisturefrom the laundry. The air is heated by a heating element so that rapidremoval of the moisture takes place, the laundry being tumbled withinthe drum by the rotation of the latter during the drying operation.

While some dryers of this type are arranged to discharge the moist airinto the atmosphere of the room in which the dryer is located, this isfound objectionable in some instances because of the large amount ofmoisture introduced in such atmosphere and because of the quantity oflint that accumulates from the laundry as it is tumbled, the lint, ofcourse, being carried out of the dryer along with the moist air. 7

The present invention provides a machine which avoids this difficulty.In one embodiment of the invention, the moist, lint-carrying air istransferred to a duct in the cabinet which may be connected to a fluefor carrying the air to some suitable point of discharge. In anotherembodiment of the invention, the moisture in the air is condensed andthe lint removed, so that the air may be re-introduced into the dryerfor performing further drying.

In both of these embodiments, the door which covers the opening throughwhich the clothes are inserted into and withdrawn from the drum, is soconstructed as to provide a passage for the moist air discharged fromthe drum to transfer the air either to the duct, in the one embodiment,or to return the air to the interior of the cabinet in the otherembodiment. In both embodiments, the fact that the air passes throughsuch passage in the door renders the various portions of the passageaccessible for cleaning lint therefrom. Moreover, such a constructionpermits placing lint screens in these passages so that when the door isopened at the conclusion of each drying operation, the lint may bereadily cleared from the screens to prevent excessive accumulationthereof. I

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the cabinet isindicated generally at It and comprises a top wall I I a front wall l2,side walls 53, and a rear wall M. The cabinet is thus of generallyrectangular form. Within the cabinet is located a drum !5 of substantialcylindrical form, in which thelaundry is placed for drying, the laundrybeing tumbled therein and subjected to heated air to effect such drying.At its front end, the drum i5 is provided with an axially projectingflange I6 providing an opening through which the laundry may be insertedand withdrawn. The flange i5 also provides for rotatably supporting thefront end of the drum,

the flange [6 being mounted on a pair of rollers ll carried by anupright 20 mounted within the cabinet NJ.

The rear end of the drum is illustrated as being supported through ashaft 2! rotatably mounted in an upright 22 mounted in the cabinet 10.Air impelling means indicated at 23 is mounted in the rear portion ofthe drum and is adapted to draw air inwardly through the central area ofthe rear wall of the drum and to force the air outwardly into theperipheral portion of the drum. The air on entering the drum passes overa heating element carried by a plate 24 mounted on the upright 22. Theair impeller thus draws air from the space between the cylindrical drumand the rectangular cabinet, the moist air resulting from the drying ofthe laundry being discharged through the central opening provided by theflange [6 on the front of the drum. 7

To drive the air impeller 23 and the drum, the impeller is mounted onthe shaft 2! which at its rear end carries a pulley 25 connected by abelt 26 with a drive motor (not shown). The belt 26 also passes over anidler pulley 2'! which is rigidly secured to a stub shaft mounted in abracket 39 carried by the upright 22. The stub shaft also carries apulley 3| which drives a belt 32 extending about a cylindrical portion33 formed on the rear side of the drum.

Thefront wall l2 of the cabinet, in this instance, is provided with aflange member 34 extending within the flange It on the drum andproviding an opening, together with the flange 16 through which thelaundry may be inserted and withdrawn. The moist air resulting from thedrying operation thus will be discharged through the flange member 34. Asealing strip 38 may be secured to the drum flange 6 for engagement withthe front wall l2 to prevent the moist air from entering the spacebetween the cabinet and the drum. It is, of course, desirable to providea door, indicated generally at 35, for closing the aligned openings inthe flanged member 34 and the flange I8 so that the laundry beingtumbled within the drum in the drying operation cannot fall out of thedrum. However, since in this embodiment of the invention as well as theembodiment later to be described, it is desired to prevent such moistlint-carrying air from being discharged into the room in which the dryeris located. To this end, a duct is provided in the upper part of thecabinet to carry away the moist atmosphere.

In the present instance, the duct comprises a front portion 36 formed bya channel member secured to the front wall I 2 of the cabinet, and arearwardly extending portion comprising a tubular member 31 secured toone end of the front portion 36, the rearwardly extending portion 37passing through the space between the drum and the walls of the cabinetand thus preventing the moist air carried thereby from mixing with thedrying air within the cabinet which is drawn into the drum by the airimpeller 23. Air is supplied to the interior of the cabinet, in thepresent instance, by having the top wall ll of the cabinet extendforwardly beyond the front wall l2 to provide a gap indicated at 40.

To transfer the moisture laden air discharged from the drum through theflange member 34 to the duct, the door is so constructed as to provide apassage connecting the opening in the flange member 34 with a secondopening, indicated at 4|, located over the front portion 36 of the duct.Thus, air discharged from the drum will be transferred by the passage inthe door 35 to the front portion 36 of the duct and from there it canflow through the rearwardly extending portion 31.

To provide such a transfer duct in the door 35, the latter in thisinstance comprises a front or outer wall 42 and an inner wall 43 spacedfrom the outer wall. The inner wall 43 is bulged outwardly, as at 44,throughout an area overlying at least a portion of the opening throughthe flange member 34 and the opening 4! into the front portion 36 of theduct. The door 35 is preferably hinged as at 45 to the front wall 12 ofthe cabinet and to prevent leakage of the air around the periphery ofthe door, a sealing gasket 46 is provided between the door and the frontwall l2. Thus, the air discharged from the drum M will be transferred bythe passage formed in the door by the bulged portion 44, to the opening4| to be carried away by the duct.

The rearwardly extending portion 3'! of the duct is adapted to beconnected to a flue which may carry the moist air to a suitable point ofdischarge. In many instances, such flue may be connected to the rear endof the tubular member 3'1, the latter projecting through the rear wall Mof the cabinet, as at 46, for this purpose. However, in certaininstances, it will not be practicable to attach such flue to therearward extension 31 at the rear of the cabinet. Consequently, therearward extension 31 of the duct may instead be provided with alaterally extending portion 41 to permit the flue to be connectedthereto at the side wall l3 of the cabinet, or, the rearward extension31 may have an upwardly extending portion 48 so that the flue can beconnected to the extension 31 adjacent the top wall ll of the cabinet.

It is, of course, desirable to be able to have access to the variousportions of the duct so that any deposit of lint therein may be readilyremoved therefrom. For this purpose the right hand end of the frontportion 36 of the duct, as well as the rearward extension 31 is renderedaccessible by providing an aperture in the front wall [2 of the cabinetaligned with the rearward extension 31 and normally covered over by aremovable cap 50. Upon removal of the cap, access may easily be had tothe interior of the channel shape member comprising the front portion 36of the duct as well as to the front end of the rearwardly extendingportion 31. The flue may also be connected to the duct at this point, byremoving the cap 50, in those instances where it is not feasible toconnect the flue to the rearwardly extending portion 31.

With a dryer of this character, it is preferable to remove the lint fromthe air discharged from the drum rather than to let itv be carried outthrough the flue. In the present instance, I provide lint removing meanscomprising a series of screens which are preferably of progressivelyfiner mesh in a downstream direction so that substantially all of thelint will be removed from the air before it passes into the ductconnected to the flue. In the specific arrangement herein shown, Iprovide a screen 5| carried by the door and of dished form to projectinto the flange member 34 so that air immediately on its discharge fromthe drum will have to pass therethrough. The screen Si is of relativelycoarse mesh and will remove only the larger bits of, lint. The screen 5|also confines small articles being dried to the drum to prevent themaeracae from. being drawn into the. high velocity: air stream: passingthrough the duct; in. the door.

I may also provide: one or' more additional screens for removingthefiner lint. In the present instance I have provided two such screens,one being indicated at 52 and the. other being indicated at 53, locatedat the opening 41 so that the air as it passes into the front portion 36of the duct must pass therethrough. The screen 52: is of finer meshthan: the screen 5! While the screen 53 is: of the finest mesh of allthree; Thus, substantially all of the lint will be removed from the airbefore it passes into the duct.

It will be noted from this construction that the three screens 5|, 52:,and 53 are rendered accessible for cleaning when the door 52 is opened.Thus, since the screen 51 is carried by the door, the side of the screenon which the lint collects will be accessible when the door is opened.The screen 52, particularly the side on which the lint collects, willalso be fully" accessible when the door is opened. Access may also bereadily had to the screen 53 by pivotally mounting the screen 52 as at54, so that after cleaning. the screen 52, it may be swung upwardly togive access to the screen 53. latter is also pivotally' mounted as at 5%so that access may be had to the interior of the front portion 3% of theduct.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4', the moistair discharged from the drum is adapted to pass through a passage in thedoor and to be returned to the interior of the cabinet, the moisture inthe condensed and removed in the meantime, so that the air is in propercondition to be drawn back into the drum for further drying of thelaundry. In this form of the invention, the cabinet is indicatedgenerally at it and comprises a front wall 51-, a top wall 62, and arear wall 63. The cabinet is completely closed 'to the atmosphere in theroom, when the dryeris operating, so that no air is either dischargedinto the room or withdrawn therefrom. Within the cabinet is a drum,indicated generally at 64, of substantially cylindrical form and pro--vided with a central axially extending flange at its front end and asimilar flange 65 at its rear end. The drum is supported at its frontend by a pair of rollers 8'! running between two guide ribs H1 formed onthe front flange 55, the rollers 6? being supported by an upright iiprovided in the cabinet; The rear flange 6B of the drum may be similarlysup ported for rotation, the rollers therefor not being shown butcarried by an upright 12'.

To drive the drum' and effect circulation of air therethrough a motor 13is mounted on: a.

ing element located at the intake side of the P fan '55 so that the airforced into the drum will thereby be heated. The air drawn into the drumwill alsobe preheated. to some extent, since:

it is drawn from the space between the-drum and the;- cabinet and; theradiation of heatfrom P through the flange it serting laundry the drumwill heat the air in. such space; The air also passes around the; motor13,: so as. to cool" the latter and such-heat is thereby'absorbed by theair.

The motor 13- is also utilized to drive the drum. For this purpose, therear end of the motor shaft is provided with a pulley 8 l cone nected.by a belt 82' to an idler pulley 83. The latter is rigidly mounted on a.stub shaft 84- to which is secured asecond pulley 85 carrying a belt 86extending about the flange B6- on' the rear of the drum. The motor 13thus drives both thefan' i5 and the drum.

The same; quantity of air that is drawn ine wardly through the aperture76 by the fan- 15 must be discharged from the drum to avoid building upa pressure therein. In the present embodiment, such air is dischargedthrough the flange ts at the front of the drum, the air of course beingmoist; because of the evaporation from the laundry. The flange 65' inthis in stance extends through a flanged opening 90 provided in thefront wall. 6! of. the cabinet, the opening in the flange t5 beingadapted for ininto and withdrawal thereof: from thedryer;

A door, indicated generally at 91 i is, supported on the front wall tias'by hinges 92 to close the opening through the flange 65 but since themoist air is discharged through this opening; the door 9'! isconstructed to provide a passage for such air. As heretofore mentioned,one of the. features of this embodiment of the invention is to condensethe moisture from the air discharged from the drum and to return it to.the interior of the cabinet so that it may be again drawn into the drumfor drying purposes. Conse quently, the door 91 is provided with apassage which is adapted to return the air to the interior of thecabinet and within the passage con densing means-adapted to condense themoisture the air before it is returned.

In the construction herein shown, the door comprises anouter wall 93within which a duct Ms ismounted. The duct 9 t is'closed except foropenings formed on its innerface adjacent its respective ends. Thus, theduct 34 is provided at its. upper end with its. opening 95which overliesthe opening through the flange 65 of the drum when the door is closed.At the lower end of the duct 64', a plurality of louvres- 96 are formedon the inner face toconstitute an opening and are adapted to registerwith similar louvres 91 formed on the adjacent front wall iii of thecabinet. Thus, when the door 9! isclosed,

the air discharged from the drum will pass through the flange 65, theopening 55 and the duct 94; then through" the duct. downwardly and.through thelouvres 98 and 9! into the cabinet. The door" is.- providedwith a sealing strip 10-9- extending substantially about its peripheryto seal any space between the door and the front wall 6t of the cabinetwhen the door is closed.

W Thus, the air discharged from the drumwill be returned to the interiorof the cabinet.

To condense the moisture. from the air as it passes through the duct 94,a spray device [0! is mounted in the upperpart of the duct and isprovidedwith a plurality'of nozzles [02- for spraying water downwardlyin the duct. The spray device idlis adapted to be connected to a sourceof cool water under pressure by means of a flexible hose: I 03. The coolwater thus sprayed downward in the duct 94: will reduce the temperatureof thezain and cause a condensation of the;

moisture therein so that the air returned to the interior of the cabinetthrough the louvres 96 and 91 will be relatively dry when reheated as itpasses into the drum. In the bottom portion of the duct 94 a drain I04is provided to collect the water sprayed therein as well as thecondensate, the drain I04 being adapted to be connected by a flexiblehose I05 to conduct the water to a suitable point of disposal. The air,after the moisture is condensed therefrom, could of course be dischargedinto the room instead of confined to the cabinet, if desired.

The door 9| preferably carries a screen I06 adapted to fit within theflange 66 of the drum to remove lint from the air as it is dischargedfrom the drum. The screen I06 is, of course, accessible for cleaningwhen the door is opened. The spray of water from the nozzles I02 alsoremoves lint from the air, and such lint is carried away with the waterthrough the drain I04. The screen I05 also prevents small articles oflaundry from passing through the discharge opening during operation ofthe dryer.

The air returned to the cabinet through the louvres 9! will be somewhatpreheated by heat radiated from the drum 64 and then will be drawn intothe drum through the flange 66 at the rear end thereof to efiect furtherdrying of the laundry in the drum. The drum 64 may be insulated toprevent excessive loss of heat therefrom, if it is found desirable,although any heat radiated therefrom will not be lost since it isabsorbed by the air returned to the cabinet.

I claim:

1. A dryer comprising a cabinet, a drum mounted within said cabinet,said cabinet and said drum having aligned openings for the insertion andwithdrawal of laundry and for the discharge of moist air from the drum,said cabinet having another opening at one side of the firstmentionedopening, and a door mounted on the exterior of said cabinet and coveringboth of said openings in the cabinet and having means defining a passagetherein openly communicating with the two openings in the cabinet forreturning the air discharged from the drum to the interior of thecabinet.

2. A dryer comprising a cabinet, a drum mounted within said cabinet,said cabinet and said drum having aligned openings for the insertion andwithdrawal of laundry and for the discharge of moist air from the drum,said cabinet having another opening at one side of the firstmentionedopening, and a door mounted on the exterior of said cabinet and coveringboth of said openings in the cabinet and having a passage therein forreturning the air discharged from the drum to the interior of thecabinet, said door having a screen extending across said alignedopenings for collecting lint discharged through said openings.

3. A dryer comprising a cabinet having two openings in one wall thereofwith the openings laterally spaced from each other, a drum for tumblinglaundry therein during drying and rotatably mounted in said cabinet,said drum having a central opening aligned with one of said cabinetopenings for the insertion and withdrawal of laundry therethrough, meansfor drawing air into said drum and for passing moist air through saidcentral opening and its associated cabinet opening, and a door hingedlymounted on said wall of the cabinet and overlying both of said cabinetopenings, said door having a passage formed therein registering with thetwo cabinet openings when the door is closed for returning the airdischarged from the drum to the interior of the cabinet.

4. A dryer comprising a cabinet having a round opening and ahorizontally extending opening in one wall thereof with the two openingsvertically spaced from each other, a drum rotatably mounted in saidcabinet and having a central opening aligned with said round opening,means for drawing air into said drum and for passing air through saidcentral and round openings, and a door hingedly mounted on said wall ofthe cabinet and overlying said round opening and said horizontallyextending opening, said door having a sealing gasket extending about itsinner face adjacent the margin thereof adapted to engage said wall whenthe door is closed and having a passage within the area enclosed by saidgasket registering with the two openings in said wall for conducting theair discharged through said round opening to said horizontally extendingopening.

5. A dryer comprising a cabinet having two openings in one wall thereof,a drum mounted in said cabinet and having an opening aligned with one ofsaid two openings, and a door hingedly mounted on said wall andoverlying the two openings therein, said door comprising inner and outerwalls spaced from each other with the inner wall having an area bulgedtoward the outer wall to provide a passage on the exterior of thecabinet connecting said two openings.

6. A dryer comprising a cabinet having a cen tral opening and alaterally spaced opening in one wall thereof, a drum mounted within saidcabinet and having a central opening in one wall thereof aligned withthe central opening of the cabinet, both of said walls having flangeportions about the central openings in telescopic relation with eachother, a door mounted on the exterior of said cabinet and overlying thetwo openings therein, said door having a passage connecting said twoopenings and having a dished screen fitting within said flange portions.

7. A dryer comprising a cabinet having a cen tral opening and alaterally spaced opening in one wall thereof, a drum mounted in saidcabinet and having a central opening aligned with the central opening ofsaid cabinet, means for drawing air into said drum and for passing itthrough said central openings, a duct within said cabinet extendingoutside of said drum and adapted to be connected to an external flue,said duct extending from and communicating with said laterally spacedopening, and a door on said cabinet overlying said openings and having apassage connecting the two openings of the cabinet.

8. A dryer comprising a generally rectangular cabinet having a frontwall provided with a central opening and a second opening spaced above,said central opening, a generally cylindrical drum mounted in saidcabinet and having a central opening aligned with the central opening ofthe cabinet, means for drawing air into said drum and for discharging itthrough said central openings, a duct within said cabinet and comprisingone portion extending crosswise of the cabinet at the inner face of saidfront wall and leading from said second opening and a second portionextending rearwardly in the cabinet externally of the drum and adaptedto be connected to a flue outside of the cabinet, and a door mounted onsaid front wall and overlying advance "9 the two openings therein .andhaving .a passage connecting said two openings.

9.. .A dryer comprising a generally rectangular .cabinet having afrontwall provided with a central opening and asecond opening spaced .abovesaid central opening, a generally cylindrical drum mounted in saidcabinet and havinga (central opening aligned with the central .openingof the cabinet, means for drawing air into :said drum and .fordischarging .it through said central openings, a duct within saidcabinet and comprising one portion extending crosswise of the cabinet atthe inner face of said front wall and leading from said second opening,and a second portion extending rearwardlyin the lcabinet externally ofthe drum and adapted to be connected'to a flue outside of the cabinet, adoor mounted on said front wall and overlying the two openingstherein'and having a passage connecting said two opening-s, the frontwall of the cabinet having an aperture .aligned with said second portionto provide :access to both portions of said duct, and aremovablecap forclosing said aperture.

10. A dryer'comprising a generally rectangular cabinet having a frontwall provided witha centralopening-and a second opening spaced :abonesaid central opening, a generally cylindrical drum mountedin-saidcabinet and having a central opening aligned. :with the centralopening of the cabinet, means for drawing air into said drum and fordischarging it through said central openings, a duct within said cabinetand comprising one portion extending crosswise of the cabinet at the:inner face of said front wall and leading 'from said second opening,and a second portion extending rearwardly in the cabinet-externally ofthe drum and adapted to baconnected to a'flue outsideof thecabinetandadoor mounted on said front wall and overlying the two openings thereinand having a passage connecting said two openings, said second portionof the duct having its rear end located adjacent the rear, top and sidewall of athercabinet :and extending through one of them :for connectionwith said flue.

11. A drier-comprising a cabinet having la pair of spaced openings inone wall thereof, a drum mounted in said cabinet and having an openingaligned withone o-f'theopen'ings in the cabinet wall, means for drawingair into said drumand for discharging'it through said: aligned openings,and a door hinge-dly mounted on said wall and comprising inner and.outer walls in spaced relation to each other, said door-overlying thepair of openings in said wall, said inner wall being bulgedtowardsaidouter wall in an area overlapping said pair of openings withthe bulged portion cooperating with the wall of the cabinet to provide apassageconnectingsaid pairof openings.

12. A dryer comprising a cabinet having :a round opening and a generallyrectangular opening in one wall thereof, a drum mounted in said cabinetand having a central opening aligned with said round opening, means fordrawing air into said drum and for passing it through said alignedopenings, and a door hinged on said wall and covering both of saidopenings there'in,.said

door having an outwardly Lbulged portion .on'its inner .side ofgenerally rectangular form and overlapping a portion of said roundopening and the generally rectangular opening to provide a passageconnecting said openings.

13. A dryer comprising a cabinet having a pair of openings inone wallthereof, a drum rotatably mounted in'said cabinet in spaced relationthereto and having a central opening aligned with one of said ,pair ofopenings, means for drawing air into said drumirom the space be-- tweenthe drum and cabinet and iorpassing it through said aligned openings,laidoor hinged on said wall and having :a portion cooperating with saidEWEtll to -.provide a passage connecting said pair of npenings, and a.duct in said .cabinet eX- tending from the-other of said pairof-openings through said cabinet to prevent theair discharged from the:drum .l'rom'mixing .with the air in the space between the drum and thecabinet, said cabinet-having an additional opening for admittingzairtosaid space.

11 .4. A dryer comprising vacabinethaving-a pair of openings in one Wallthereof, a drum mounted in said cabinet and adapted to receive laundryto :be dried, .said drum shavingan opening aligned with one of said pairof openings, means .for drawing air into said'drum and fordischarging itthrough said aligned openings, a duct in said oabinetextending from theother of said pair of openings, ,a door hinged on said wall and havingapassage connecting said openings, a screen car-- r ed by said door andlocated in said aligned openings, and .a second screen mounted in saidother opening, said screens being adapted .to :remove lint from th airdischarged from'the-drum and being accessible :i'oricleaning when saiddoor isop neo.

15. ;A:dryer comprising :a cabinet hav n a pair of openings in one Wallthereof, a drumimounted in said cabinet and adapted to receive laundryto bedried, said drum having an opening aligned with one of said pair ofopenings, means for drawing air into said drum and fordischarging itthrough said aligned openings, a duct insaid cabinet extending from theotherof said pairof openings, acdoor hinged on said wall .andhaving apassage connecting said openings, and a plurality of screens ofdifferent .mesh for removing lint from ,the air discharged from thedrum,said screens being locatedadjacent said pair of openings whereby theyare accessible for cleaning when thedoorv is opened.

16. Adryer comprising ;a cabinet havinga pair of openings .in one wallthereof, adru-mmounted in said cabinet and adapted to receive laundry.tohe dried, said-drum havingan opening aligned with one of said pair:of openings, means for drawing air into said drum and for dischargingit 'througlrsaid aligned openings, a duct in'said cabinet extending fromthe other of said pair of openings, a door :hinged on said wall-andhavvjng a passage connecting said openings, and a plurality of screens,for removing lint from the air, one of :said screens being carriedby-said :door adjacent-said aligned openings and the other or others:being mounted .in said other opening whereby said screens areaccessible for cleaning when the :door is opened, said screens being ofprogressively finermesh 1113a. downstream direction so as to effectivelyremove substantially all of the lint.

.l']. A ,dryer-comprisingacabinethaving a pair 01' openings in onewallthereof, -.a drum mounted in-said cabinet and adapted to receivelaundry to be dried, said drum :having .an :opening. aligned with one ofsaid pair of openings, means for drawing 'air into saiddrum and fordischarging it through said aligned openings, a duct in said cabinetextending from the other of said pair of openings, a door hinged on saidwall and hav- 1 1 ing a passage connecting said openings, a screencarried by said door and positioned in said aligned openings when thedoor is closed, and a pair of screens hingedly mounted in said otheropening, said screen being accessible for cleaning when the door isopened.

18. A dryer comprising a cabinet having a pair of openings in one wallthereof, a drum rotatably mounted in said cabinet in spaced relationthereto and having a central opening aligned with one of said pair ofopenings, means for drawing air into said drum from the space betweenthe cabinet and drum and for discharging it through said alignedopenings, and a door hinged on said wall and overlying said openings,said door having a duct therein provided with a pair of openings on itsinner face adjacent its ends and adapted to register with the pair ofopenings in said wall of the cabinet for returning the air dischargedfrom the drum to the interior of the cabinet.

19. A laundry dryer comprising a casing, a drum rotatably mounted insaid casing in spaced relation thereto and providing a drying chamber,said drum having an opening for the insertion and withdrawal of laundry,said drum having an intake for admitting air from the space between saidcasing and said drum, means for rotating the drum, a blower mounted insaid drum and driven by said means for drawing in air through saidintake and for discharging air through said opening, means for heatingthe air entering through said intake, means providing a return passagefrom said opening to the interior of said casing for returning thedischarged air to said casing, and a condenser in said return passagefor removing moisture from the discharged air before return to saidcasing.

20. A laundry dryer comprising a casing, a drum rotatably mounted insaid casing in spaced relation thereto and providing a drying chamber,said drum having an annular flange projecting through said casing andproviding an opening for the insertion and withdrawal of laundry, andsaid drum having an intake for admitting air from the space between saidcasing and said drum, means for rotating the drum, a blower mounted insaid drum and driven by said means for drawing in air through saidintake and discharging through said opening, a door for closing saidopening and providing a return passage from said opening to said casingfor returning the discharged air to said casing, and a condenser carriedby said door in said return passage for removing moisture from thedischarged air before return to said casing.

21. A laundry dryer comprising a casing, a drum rotatably mounted insaid casing in spaced relation thereto, said drum and said casing havingali ned openings for the insertion and withdrawal of laundry, and saiddrum having an intake for admitting air thereto from the space betweenthe drum and the casing, driving means 'for rotating the drum, meansdriven by said driving means for drawing in air through said intake fromthe space between said drum and said casing and discharging air fromsaid drum through said openings, a door for closing said openings andproviding a return passage from said openings to said casing forreturning the discharged air thereto, and a condenser carried by saiddoor in said return passage for removing 12 moisture from the dischargedair before return to said casing.

22. A laundry dryer comprising a casing, a drum rotatably mounted insaid casing in spaced relation thereto, said drum and said casing havingaligned openings for the insertion and withdrawal of laundry, and saiddrum having an intake for admitting air thereto from the space betweenthe drum and the casing, driving means for rotating the drum, meansdriven by said driving means for drawing in air through said intake fromthe space between said drum and said casing and discharging air fromsaid drum through said openings, said casing having an aperture adjacentsaid openings, a door for closing said openings and said aperture andproviding a return passage therebetween for returning the discharged airto the casing, and means mounted in said return passage for sprayingcooling fluid into the discharged air to remove moisture therefrombefore return to said casing.

23. A laundry dryer comprising a casing, a drum rotatably mounted insaid casing in spaced relation thereto, said drum and said casing havingaligned openings for the insertion and withdrawal of laundry, and saiddrum having an intake for admitting air thereto from the space betweenthe drum and the casing, driving means for rotating the drum, meansdriven by said driving means for drawing in air through said intake fromthe space between said drum and said casing and discharging air fromsaid drum through said openings, a door hinged on said casing forclosing said openings and providing a. return passage from said openingsto said casing for returning the discharged air thereto, a spray mountedin said return passage for spraying cooling fluid into the dischargedair to condense vapor carried thereby, a drain located in the bottom ofsaid return passage for collecting the cooling fluid and the condensate,and flexible connections for said spray and said drain to permitswinging movement of the door.

24. A laundry dryer comprising a casing, means providing a dryingchamber within and in spaced relation to said casing, said casing andsaid means having aligned openings for the insertion and withdrawal oflaundry and said casture and providing a return passage therebetween,and means for condensing moisture in the discharged air during itsmovement through said return passage including a drain for collectingthe condensate, and a flexible connection extending from said drain forremoving the condensate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,434,886 Pugh Jan. 20, 1948 2,486,058 Patterson et al Oct.25, 1949 2,521,712 Geldhof 1. Sept. 12, 2,540,725 Geldhof Feb. 6, 1951

